A £140million transformation of Liverpool Lime Street has been completed with the full reopening of all ten of the platforms.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was one of the first to take a look at the new-look railway station on Monday, October 15 when he joined Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram to unveil a plaque to mark the occasion.

Network Rail has hailed the work over the past 18 months as a success, pointing out the track, platform and signalling improvements were all completed on time and on budget.

One of Northern’s brand new, state of the art trains was also at the station for the event. Due to start entering service by the end of the year, this is part of a £500m investment in a fleet of 98 new trains and the retirement of the old ‘Pacer’ train.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling MP, said: “When Concourse House was demolished it opened up Lime Street’s Grade II façade to the city again, and made it a much more fitting neighbour for the magnificent St George’s Hall and the other historic buildings of Liverpool’s World Heritage site.

“Now these improvements mean the interior of the station matches the exterior. Work on the platforms, tracks and signalling equipment of the station will deliver longer trains, more reliable services, more seats and faster journeys.

“Working closely with Network Rail and train operators, they will ensure people see significant benefits from the £1bn Great North Rail Project. They are part of the government’s determination to put better journeys for passengers at the heart of everything we do. “

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Lime Street station is a vital cog in our transport network and this major upgrade is important not just for individual passengers but for the economy of the whole city region.

“There is clearly much more to be done to improve our transport infrastructure across the north as a whole but this is a very welcome first step.”

Sunday, October 14 saw the completion of the final stage of the work to bring the newly extended platform 1 into passenger use.

The platform, originally numbered platform 2, has been extended by 60m, from 160m to 220m in length to accommodate longer trains, with more seats for more passengers.

Platforms across the station have been completely remodelled. Two brand new platforms have been built and are in use, and all others remodelled, widened and/or lengthened. This has been vital to boost much-needed capacity within the historic grade II listed station building.

An extensive signalling upgrade has also been completed to allow more trains to run in and out of the station, more reliably.

Signalling control was successfully moved over to centrally-operated Manchester Rail Operating Centre in July. This means more reliable journeys for passengers, allowing faster decision making on the railway to minimise delays.